Iran Blocks Country-Wide Access to Facebook, Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail

Worrying news from Tehran – an Iranian national said that the country has blocked access to many daily-use communication websites such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and Facebook. This occurred recently without the Government stating the explicit reasons, or even acknowledging that this block has occurred. While many net-savvy Iranians have managed to use proxies and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to punch through this blockade, the prospect of a nation-wide firewall akin to the Great Firewall of China seems very real for Iranians.

Considering that February 11th marks the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran, word on CNet is that there might have been a protest planned for the day. Iran is no stranger to cutting off internet and communication to stem protests before they blossom. Last month the information minister had said that the Government is planning to go ahead with an Internet Kill Switch that will firewall a majority of anti-Iranian websites and other means of easy communication.

Considering that Iran’s Internet was supposed to survive a nuclear war, it seems that the centralized Internet service in the country is actually the bane for its people. Pretty soon you will have a nation full of people who are not only irritated at the regime, but also bored without Facebook’s games. According to the Internet, that is a dangerous combination.